I Only Blogged When I Wasn't Sleeping

So, over the summer, I got a little out of control with the whole blogging thing. I got a little obsessive. A little consumed. I was all about the posting, the commenting, the Site Meter checking, the commiserating, the relationship building – the whole deal.

But over the last couple of months I’ve felt like I needed to step back a little. Part of the reason for that is because of a “gentle nudge” from the Holy Spirit that was really more like being hit with a two by four. Another part of the reason is because my husband told me back in July that there were times when he wanted to throw the computer out of the window.

Both of those things sort of got my attention.

So gradually, over the last month, I’ve become a little less active in the blogosphere. I don’t read blogs quite as often (I still read all the ones I subscribe to, but I don't check Bloglines every single hour). I don’t comment as much. And I’ve been posting less, too.

I’ve been surprised by how difficult cutting back on the interweb time has been for me. It’s felt a little bit like a diet, only it’s a diet where you lose absolutely no weight and still can’t fit into your old clothes.

In other words: all the deprivation with none of the benefits! Would you like to sign up?

In truth, though, I have to admit that it really has been a good thing. I may not be as connected to the internet as I was a couple of months ago, but I’m much more connected to my family. This past weekend, when it was just David and me at home, I probably spent thirty minutes total on the computer. THIRTY MINUTES! And I didn’t twitch or anything!

This morning I decided I’d better make my way through the piled-up email in my inbox, and I found myself answering emails that were two weeks old. Normally I answer emails within, say, two minutes, but I’ve let myself be a little lax lately. Honestly, I can’t think of anyone who emails me who would mind, especially knowing that instead of answering emails within 120 seconds, I’ve been sitting on the front porch with Alex, or going out to dinner with my husband, or talking on the phone with my sister, or getting some work done, or listening to the new Chris Tomlin CD (it’s EXCELLENT, by the way, as is the Selah Duets CD), or singing in the choir at church. I still love getting emails just like I still love blogging - but I've had to slow down the pace a bit. I think that's understandable.

I guess I’ve just been dealing with what so many of us face: trying to find a balance, trying to keep blogging as a part of my life without letting it take over my life. I mean, if left to my own devices, what I’d WANT to do is to stay on the computer all day long, reading and blogging and commenting to my heart’s content. But it isn’t what I NEED to do - not when I have family and church and friends and work that also deserve my care and attention.

I guess it’s sort of like fried chicken...just because I love it WITH EVERY FIBER OF MY BEING (ahem) doesn’t mean that I need to eat it three meals a day, seven days a week. I could, mind you - but I don’t need to. Sometimes too much of a good thing is just too much.

And so it goes with blogging.

Because here's the bottom line, at least with me: I don’t want to be so busy writing about my life that I forget to live it.

Feel free to hold me accountable.